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REF RO. KT 
MASSACHUSETTS RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS 


BOSTON & MAINE RAILROAD STRIKE 


OF FEBRUARY 12, 1877. 


The Board of Railroad Commissioners have the honor to 
_ submit the following special Report : 


All the engineers and firemen in the employ of the Boston 
& Maine Railroad stopped work in a body at 4 o’clock, P. m., 
on the 12th instant, abandoning their locomotives and trains 
at the points where they then were, by a preconcerted agree- 
ment, having given to the officers of the company two hours’ 
notice of their intention so to do unless certain demands 
made by them were previously to that time complied with. 
As the officers of the corporation failed to comply with these 
demands, the men left their work at the time fixed, and great 
confusion in the operation of the road necessarily ensued, 
which, for the time, caused much insecurity to travellers, and 
public inconvenience. 

Under the laws ef the State, this Board is invested with a 
“general supervision of all railroads,” and it is the duty of 
its members “to keep themselves informed as to their condi- 
tion and the manner in which they are operated, with refer- 
ence to the security and accommodation of the public” (Acts 
1874, chap. 372, sect. 7). As soon, therefore, as it became 
apparent that the strike of the 12th instant was causing a 
serious public inconvenience, it became the duty of this 
Board to institute an investigation into all the circumstances 
connected with it. 


\ 
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2 BR. R. COMMISSIONERS’ SPECIAL REPORT. [ Feb. 


Its intervention was not asked for by either party, nor did 
its members seek to act as mediators. Had their inquiries 
disclosed a condition of affairs calling for any recommenda- 
tions from them, addressed to the corporation, they would 
not, of course, have hesitated to make them. These recom- 
mendations would then, as the law directs (Acts 1874, chap. 
872, sect..9), have made part of the next annual report of the 
Board. In such case they could not be considered by this 
present Legislature, and, for reasons presently to be stated, it 
seems desirable that they should be. A Special Report is 
therefore submitted. 

The following are the material facts in the case: Owing to 
a falling off in its business and a general consequent decrease 
in its net profits, the Boston & Maine Railroad, among other 
measures of economy, reduced the pay of its officials and 
employés of all grades, 10 per cent. from and after January 
15, 1876. This reduction seems to have given rise, at the 
time, to a feeling of much. dissatisfaction among the locomo- 
tive engineers in the employ of the company. During the 
previous fifteen years the pay of this class of employés had 
been increased from time to time, until it amounted to from 
$2.50 to $3.50 per diem, with an additional sum of 25 cents 
extra, which the corporation withheld until the close of each 
three months, and then paid as a bounty to all those who pre- 
. sented a good duty record during that time. In point of fact 
this bounty was very rarely withheld, and practically consti- 
tuted so much additional pay. Under the general order of 
January, 1876, the pay of the locomotive engineers was 
reduced ten per cent. with the rest, so that the wages of the 
several grades at the time of the strike stood as follows :— 


38 engineers received $3.15 per diem and 25 cents bonus. 


10 66 66 2.90 66 66 66 

11 66 66 2.70 66 66 66 
8 66 66 9.45 66 66 66 
4 66 66 9.25 66 


Shortly after the reduction was made, towards the end of 
January, 1876, a committee of the engineers waited on the 
the president and superintendent of the road, and presented 


their case to them. TOURER AyD discussed: and the 


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1877. ] - HOUSE—No. 102. | 3 


request for a restoration of rates was refused on the ground 
that the measure of economy was general, as well as neces- 
sary, and that no good reason existed why a special exception 
should be made in favor of one class of employés. Nearly 
all of the engineers belonged to the Brotherhood of Loco- 
motive Engineers, a powerful and wide-spread organization, 
which will hereinafter be more particularly referred to ; and as 
the chief official, or Grand Chief Engineer as he is called, of 
the Brotherhood, happened during the following month of 
April to be in Boston, he, at the request of the committee, 
met the officials of the company, and went over the matter 
with them. 

The meetings, and all the discussions at them, seemed to 
have been perfectly friendly, although they resulted in 
nothing. The engineers alleged no grievances except the 
reduction of pay, and finding that the company was indis- 
posed to yield on that point, they acquiesced, and the matter 
seemed settled. Although nothing further was done at that 
time, however, the men do not seem to have felt satisfied. A 
spirit of restlessness and discontent existed among them, 
though not to a degree which attracted the notice of the higher 
officials, who supposed that everything was going on satisfac- 
torily. | 

This continued until Friday, February 2. On that day an- 
other committee of the engineers, four in number, waited on 
the president, and presented to him the following petition :— 


BOSTON, 1877. 


-— 


To the President and Superintendent of the Boston and Maine Railroad. 


We, the undersigned, a committee representing the locomotive 
engineers in your employ, most respectfully submit the following 
proposition for your approval :— 

First. On and after February 1, 1877, all engineers who have 
been in the service of the company for the term of two (2) years 


“*sghall receive three fifty ($3.50) per day for every one hundred (100) 


miles run, passenger, or less, all miles run to exceed one hundred 


m (100) to be paid for pro rata, excepting those running shifters, who 
shall receive twenty-five (25) cents per day less; and for every 


P 


eighty (80) miles run, freight, or less, three fifty ($3.50) per day, 


‘2 all miles exceeding 80 to be paid for pro rata. 


) 


{ 


4 R. RB. COMMISSIONERS’ SPECIAL REPORT. [Feb. 


Second. All firemen promoted by the company for any length of 
time to the position of engineers, for the first year shall receive two 
seventy-five ($2.75) per day for the same service, and pro rata for 
extra mileage. 

Third. For the second year they shall receive three dollars ($3) 
per day, and pro rata for extra mileage. 

Fourth. The oldest engineer in the service of the company to 
have the preference of trains and engines when vacant, and in case 
of a surplus of men the work to be equally divided among the 
whole. In all cases twelve (12) hours to constitute a day’s labor 
while on duty at engine-house, and all movements in regard to these 
resolutions shall be forwarded with all dispatch possible. 


GEORGE W. STEVENS, 

Grorce W. Kent, 

WarrEN H. WALKER, 

C. A. STEVENS, - 
Committee. 


On presenting this paper, which they did in a perfectly 
respectful manner, the spokesman of the committee said that 
they would like an early reply. After reading it President 
White told the committee that he had no authority to grant 
their request, but if they desired an immediate reply he was 
ready to give them one; that he did not think their demands 
would be complied with, and that he was not in favor of com- 
plying with them himself. The whole party then sat down 
in the directors’ room and discussed the subject. The com- 
mittee presented their case at length, and were courteously 
listened to by the president. On all hands it was agreed 
that, though no encouragement whatever was given to them 
to hope that their demands would be complied with, the inter- 
view was pleasant and friendly : and though the demands were 
not complied with, it was not pretended, on the one hand, that 
they were not properly presented, or, on the other, that they - 
had not received full and respectful consideration. 

After this interview, the committee of engineers tele- 
graphed to Mr. P. M. Arthur, the official head of the Brother- 
hood of Locomotive Engineers, stating that trouble had 
arisen between them and the Boston & Maine Railroad, 
and requesting him to come to Boston to advise them. In 
reply he telegraphed back that he was then much occupied 


1877.] HOUSE—No. 102. 5 


elsewhere, but wished them to mail him a detailed statement 
of their case, and to endeavor to settle it for themselves 
without his intervention. Nothing more was done in the 
matter by the committee of the engineers until Thursday, the 
8th. In the meantime another and informal committee of 
the engineers had been to see the superintendent of the road, 
Mr. J. T. Furber, and Mr. Arthur had come to Boston. 

The whole matter had been again discussed between Super- 
intendent Furber and the informal committee, and some prog- 
ress made toward an understanding; but no encouragement 
was held out of a complete concession on the essential points. 
The difference, as regards money, was very small indeed, 
amounting to but ten cents a day, which amount, even, Mr. 
Furber promised to do his best to have allowed; but on what 
appears to have now been treated as the essential points in 
dispute,—the grading, promoting, employing and discharging 
of men,—the superintendent declined to yield. 

Immediately upon his arrival on Thursday, the 8th, Mr. 
Arthur, as Grand Chief Engineer of the Brotherhood, ad- 
dressed the following letter to President White, setting 
forth his object in coming to Boston, and requesting an inter- 
view for the purpose of adjusting, if possible, the pending 
difficulties :— | 


Boston, February 8, 1877. 


N. G. WHirTeE, Esq., President Boston & Maine Raitroad. 


Dear Sir :—The laws and rules of the Brotherhood of Locomotive 
Engineers to which the engineers in your employ belongs requires 
them, when a question arises between them and their employers 
they cannot settle satisfactorily. It is their duty to send for 
the Grand Chief Engineer of the organization. It is his duty to 
come and use all honorable means in his power to effect a peaceable 
adjustment and prevent any difficulty occurring between the engi- 
neers and the company. Your engineers have sent for me and I 
have come not in the spirit of coercion or dictation but as mediator, 
and would be pleased to have an interview with you and a commit- 
tee of your engineers if you will be kind enough to grant the 
favor please inform the Bearer of time and place. 


Yours respectfully, 
P. M. Artuor, G. C. £. 


6 or RARE 
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URBANA 


6 Rk. R. COMMISSIONERS’ SPECIAL REPORT. [Feb. | 


On consultation with his directors, Mr. White declined to 
grant the desired interview, upon the ground that the diffi- 
culty was one wholly between the officers of the corporation and 
its employés, and the officers were unwilling to permit the inter- 
vention of a third party. They insisted upon their right to 
deal directly. Thereupon Mr. Arthur, after expressing to 
the committee of engineers the great reluctance he felt in 
having recourse to a strike, for which they seemed somewhat 
eager, advised them to again present their demand in a modi- 
fied form. This was done on the same day, when the com- 
mittee again met President White, Superintendent Furber, 
Mr. Ousoed and others representing the road, and handed 
them the following paper :— 


Boston, February 1, 1877. 


To the President and Superintendent of the Boston & Maine Railroad. 


We, the undersigned, a committee representing the Locomotive 
Engineers in your employ, most respectfully submit the following 
proposition for your approval : 

First. On and after February 1 all Engineers who have been in 
the service of the company for the term of two (2) years shall 
receive three fifty ($3.50) per day, the present schedule and miles 
run per day to constitute a day’s work. 

Second. All Firemen promoted by the company to the position of 
Engineers, for the first year shall receive two fifty ($2.50) per day 
for the same service. 

Third. For the second year they shall receive three ($3) per day 
for the same service. 

Fourth. All Engineers running shifters shall receive three twenty- 
five ($3 25) per day, providing they have been in the emnes of the © 
company two years. 

Fifth. The oldest men in the employ of the company to have 
the preference of Trains and Engines when vacant, if competent and 
worthy. In case of a surplus of men, the work to be equally 
divided among the whole. 

G. W. STEVENS, 

G. W. Kent, 

W. H. WALKER, 

C. A. STEVENS, 
Committee. 


1877.] HOUSE—No. 102. | 1 


Another long interview ensued, in the course of which the 
members of the committee for the first time intimated that, 
in case their demands were refused, a strike was contem- 
plated. This interview, like the previous one, was on all 
sides admitted to have been perfectly pleasant and friendly. 
No desire for further time for consideration was expressed by 
any one, and it seemed to have been tacitly understood that 
the decision arrived at was final. 

Returning from the interview the committee told Mr. 
Arthur that their demands were rejected and it only remained 
to acquiesce or strike. He then gave them, permission to 
strike if they saw fit, thus assuring them of the support of 
the association of which he was the head. A strike was at 
once determined upon, and on Monday, the 12th inst., at 
2 o'clock, Pp. M., the committee again waited on the officials 
of the road and presented to them a third paper, as follows :— 


Boston, Monday, February 12, 1877. 


To the President and Superintendent of the Boston and Maine Railroad 
Company. 


Sirs :—We, the undersigned, a committee representing the Loco 
motive Engineers in your employ, do hereby notify you that unless 
the following propositions are conceded to, every Engineer employed 
by the Company, will stop work at 4 o’clock Pp. m. 

First. On and after February 1, 1877, all Engineers who have 
been in the service of the company for the term of two years shall 
receive $3.50 per day; the present schedule and miles run to con- 
stitute a day’s work. 

Second. All Firemen promoted by the company to the position of 
Engineers shall receive for the first year $2.50 per day for the same 
service. For the second year they shall receive $3 per day for the 
same service. 

Third. All Engineers running shiftifg engines shall receive $3.25 
per day, provided they have been in the service of the company two 
years, excepting E. W. Mathews and W. D. Cobb, who shall receive 
$3.50 per day, on account of the years of service rendered. 

Fourth. All Firemen employed by the company shall receive for 
the first year $1.60 per day; after that, $1.80 per day. 

Fifth. The oldest Engineers in the service of the company to 
have preference of engines and trains when vacant, if competent 
and worthy, and in case of a surplus of men the work to be divided 


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R. COMMISSIONE RS’ 3 0112 063176132 


equally among all; and no engineers or firemen be discharged upon 
any charge without having a fair and impartial investigation and 
their guilt established beyond a doubt, and further, that no Bria 
or Fireman be discharged for serving as committee-man. 


me eit.” 


GrorGE W. STEVENS, 

Grorce W. Kent, 

W. H. Watker, 

C. A. STEVENS, 
Committee. 


At the same time the following general order to engineers 
was issued by the committee : — 


We the Brotherhood have decided to stop work on the Boston 
& Maine Railroad on Monday, February 12, at 4 Pp. m., unless our 
propositions are conceded to wherever that hour finds you. Unless 
you receive a telegram signed G. W. Stevens, ‘all settled,” within 
two (2) hours from the time you stop, blow your boiler out and 
abandon your engine. Should you receive a telegram signed G. W. 
Stevens, ‘all settled,’ within two hours after you stop, then pro- 


ceed with the train. 
By order of the Brotherhood. 


Anticipating difficulty, Superintendent Furber had taken _ 
measures to meet it beforehand, and all the passenger trains in 
motion either already had been or immediately were supplied 
with substitutes to take the piace of those striking.. On get- 
ting positive notice of the hour, that official also took prompt 
steps to get all freight trains off the main track upon the dif- 
ferent sidings. The members of the committee of engineers 
claimed that the hour of 4 o’clock was chosen as that least likely 
to incommode the public by the sudden stoppage of trains, as 
very few were then between stations; and the men were or- 
dered to remain by their locomotives two hours to see that no ~ 
disaster happened, and to afford the officials a reasonable time 
in which to accede to the committee’s demands. They also 
stated that they looked upon the extreme measure of stopping 
trains at 4 o’clock wherever they then might be, whether 
freight or passenger, and regardless of the amount of ob- 
struction thus placed on the road, as a legitimate means of 
bringing pressure to bear upon the company. 


